Message In A Grave
by forbloodysummer
Summary: The Doctor leaves behind his final letter. Major character death (obviously) follows.


_So here it ends._

_Maybe it's time._

_Well, I say it's time, what is time to a Time Lord?_

_But I'm the last, and by rights I should have been dead centuries ago. And yet not for centuries to come. Ha, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far… well, no, actually this one._

_I miss you. I wanted you to know that. Not that you can know, since this isn't a letter you'll be receiving, but I felt that I had to say it._

_And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. We could have had it all, if I hadn't waited for so long._

_I finally knew it was time when the TARDIS died. My TARDIS. I'd never realised how much that faithful ship was a part of my own hearts._

_In a small, selfish way, I wish I'd realised it was dying sooner. Could've taken it somewhere nice to be laid to rest. Could've taken it to Amenar, with its 12 suns in perfect balance, or the frozen citadel on Tain._

_I wouldn't mind a last chance to look up Jack. At this point, he's still around, out there somewhere, not yet confined to a great glass tank. None of the others could've handled it, seeing me again, not Sarah Jane, not the Brigadier, and certainly not Rose. It'd just bring up a load of could-have-beens, I learned a while ago that leaving people can be devastating, but coming back to them can be even worse._

_I wish I could see you again. Just once. Just to say goodbye properly. To let you know that those years spent with you… they were the best of my life. And that's with a _lot_ of years to choose from._

_And I know you're out there somewhere, living on forever, and I wish that I could join you. But that's not for me. With the death of the TARDIS, I'm stuck here. In Cardiff. In 1643._

_I never really thought about it before, but I found the answer to at least one of the mysteries of my travels. I now know what caused the rift in space and time that runs through Cardiff – I did. Well, I say me, the TARDIS really, its death caused a rupture that flowed both ways through time, causing its existence to spill into past and future. All in all, a fitting death for the last TARDIS._

_Certainly more than I've got to be remembered by, the legacy of the Time Lords is all but gone. Well, except that the universe is still here, I suppose that must count for something. But other than that, it's not just my race, it's me. There's no one left who would miss me, no one who remembers I ever existed, and no one left for me to send a last letter to._

_Oh, I'm willing to bet the last Dalek is still alive, plotting in some dark corner, and I've reached the age where I don't begrudge him that. In fact I almost hope he's still around, so much has been lost, so many of the great races have died, I wouldn't wish adding to that. But Daleks were never really the social kind, I don't know how they'd react to a letter._

_So here I am, dying alone. I never wanted to, but always knew I would. _'The Lonely God_,_'_ they called me. And now, now that it's far too late, and I, for once, can't turn back time, I find I can finally say it._

_I love you._

_And I should have told you a lifetime ago._

_You were the one person I ever opened up to, the only one I trusted with everything. Even my name. And I know what we had went beyond words, and there are much deeper expressions of love than just saying it. But I never managed it before, so I'll say it now, all the same._

_So this is me, signing off. I had a good innings, some might say. Cricket – funny that, I never thought my last words would be about cricket._

_Oh, and before I go, there's one thing you should know. You were brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. And you know what? So was I._

_In the most literal sense of the words,_

_Forever yours,_

(The text here is obscured)

_Last Of The Time Lords,_

_Known to all but you as 'The Doctor.'_

* * *

Found in a drawer taken from a derelict house in Cardiff when auctioned in 1905. Envelope reads 'To my wife, River.' Transferred to the Torchwood Archives.

Uploaded into The Library in 51k1.2, believed to be the spiritual resting place of Professor Song, at the command of Captain Jack Harkness, head of Torchwood and acting-head of the Three-Galaxies Inter-Dimensional Policing Agency


End file.
